$600K in Donations Stolen from Joel Osteen’s Mega-Church

Lakewood Church is dealing with a violation of the Ten Commandments after the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Thou shalt not steal.” But someone did.

Lakewood Church has sent out a notice that donations collected at services Saturday and Sunday, the 8th and 9th, were stolen. And, they advise anyone who gave by check or credit card to watch their bank accounts very carefully and report any suspicious activity.

Thankfully, the funds were fully insured and will be restored to the church. Lakewood is working with police investigating the incident.

Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church sent the following email to church members Monday night:

“We were heartbroken to learn today that funds were stolen from the church over the weekend. This includes cash, checks and envelopes containing written credit card information, and it is limited only to those funds contributed in the church services on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2014. If you made a contribution during these weekend services, we would encourage you to pay close attention to your accounts over the next several days and weeks and report any suspicious activity to your financial institution or credit card company immediately.

It is important to note this was not an electronic data breach, but was instead limited to donations made in the services on March 8 and 9, 2014. You were not affected if you put your offering in a drop box, you gave online or through other electronic means, or you made a bookstore purchase. We are working with the police to fully investigate the incident. The funds were fully insured, and we are working with our insurance company to restore the stolen funds to the church.

If you have any questions about this matter, please contact our Customer Service Department at 713-491-1506. The integrity of our congregants’ information is of utmost importance to us. And, we would like to thank you for your continued support.”